Blog Post 10

A great example of contemporary postmodern design, is the fine art photography by Robert and Shana Parkeharrison. Their photographs have modern and political messages and stylistically at first glance the photos seem to be channelling a previous style. But it’s the second glance that makes these photos so incredible. The attention to detail is immaculate, where “less is more” seems to sum up the photos at first (Petty M M, 2011), “less is a bore” seems to be more fitting (Venturi, 1966, p. 17).

These photos portray the important messages the artist is trying to send, “My photographs tell stories of loss, human struggle, and personal exploration within landscapes scarred by technology and over-use…” (Parkeharrison R, 2000) In these two images from the series ‘The Architects Brother’, we can see historical quotation with the use of antiquity in the photos and the sepia tones used, there are manipulations of scale with the dandelion and pulling of the grass, this all adds meaning to the work strongly conveying the message.

Postmodern usually brings to mind vibrant, colourful images, but with this example we understand the ‘remix’ side of things better, with the return to antiquity we understand that colour and vibrancy is not necessarily how we have to view postmodern art and design. It is a collaborative celebration of past and present styles.

Images retrieved:

www.geh.org/parkeharrison/

Reference List: 

Petty, M, M.( 2011), Lecture 12 The Remix, Victoria University ,Te aro Campus

Venturi, R. (1966). Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. New York: United States of America: Museum of Modern Art.

Parkeharrison, R (2000) The Architects Brother

Blog Post 9

Consumerism=freedom  (Petty,M.M, 2011)

In the 1950s this slogan was adopted to help a slumping economy, but today it has massive repercussions for the environment, meaning that today the biggest issue we face within design, is sustainability. Designers are plagued with the issue of keeping their designs temporary and desirable, while also considering the affect it will have on the environment.

The humble take away coffee cup is a great example of the sustainability debate, this coffee cup is seemingly insignificant until you see the statistics, in America alone “Over 6.5 million trees were cut down to make 16 billion paper cups used by US consumers in 2006, using 4 billion US gallons of water and resulting in 253 million pounds of waste.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_cup) In response to this there are many different solutions, mainly with mugs you are able to keep and are made to the take away cup parameters as to fit in the machine. The KeepCup (2011) design,  pictured here is designed for people who need their daily intake of coffee and want to reduce the number of take away cups in landfill. With the goal that everyone will own one and there will be no need for take away cups anymore.

While consumerism once meant freedom, today it is seen as trap. We need to keep up consumerism to uphold the economy, but we also need to buy less to try save the world. Making this a huge political, cultural, ideological and moral issue.

 Reference List:

Petty, M, M.( 2011), Lecture 11 Politics of Design, Victoria University ,Te Aro Campus

KeepCup website http://www.keepcup.com/

Image sourced from http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/25/view/7319/keep-cup.html

Blog Post 8

I believe that before the World Wars there seemed to be no real need for science to be incorporated into design, design was seen more of an art to be enjoyed by the upper classes. But after these events in history came the need for rebuilding cities and societies internationally, and with the introduction of the machine and new technologies nations were able to do this quicker.

"Efficiency measures in all areas of our lives do not stop where housing is at issue. The economic conditions of today prohibit any kind of waste and demand the maximum effect with minimum amount of means, requiring the implementation of such materials and technological appliances which will lead to lower building and operational costs, and will lead to a simplification of households, and to improvements of living itself.” ( P Bruckmann, 1925)

Design had to suddenly fit the limitations of the machine and changed accordingly, but not only that it had to fit the function and the purpose. As the economy was low at this time, the function of design matched this.

I think today we have reached a point where art and science walk hand in hand where design is concerned. Today we look into the psychological and physical aspects our designs have on people, we think and know more about how the material we choose to use will affect the earth. We need science and art to work together in today’s world because our problems aren’t rebuilding cities after wars, today’s design issue is sustainable design, and we rely on science to help us through this.

A great example of a scientific design, where the design needs to have more of an art base so that people will actually buy it, is the smart car, this image is of a smart car which collaborated with the high end fashion brand Hermès. The overall exterior design needs to be improved so that it as desirable to buy, not only for the people who want to save the earth, but also for the fashion conscious.

 

 

 

(President of Deutscher Werkbund, Peter Bruckmann 1925)

(Smart car image :http://www.lushbling.com/lushwheels-hermes-does-a-smart-car-1050.htm)

 

Blog Post 7

“The cumulative effect of the world's fair displays of the 1930s was to protect and bolster American consumer culture in the wake of the Depression.” (J Corn 1986)

Much like the Rugby World cup in New Zealand, with the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes, the New Zealand government has created a 'symbolic universe' which not only lulls New Zealand society into a false sense of security that everything will be okay, but also projects an image to rest of the world as to how New Zealand is coping and moving on from this tragedy.

This symbolic universe is shown in the strong Rugby World cup campaign, on the official RWC website (http://www.rugbyworldcup.com) you can find that there are ridiculously strict controls over who can officially market the RWC and anything associated with it, regulated so that the organisers only show exactly what they want to, projecting this idealistic view of New Zealand to the rest of the world. The facebook group 'The International Tournament of the odd-shaped ball' (http://www.facebook.com/oddshapedball) is a group representative of those not allowed to promote games.

Everyday we are plagued with a mass of sporting coverage, feeling more desperately worried for Dan Carter's groin injury than for the Nations actual problems of debt crisis' etc. The media's job is to cover up the real issues and ply us with things that don't really matter, because, in the end we may lose or win the world cup, but when it's all over, how do we feel as a Nation, and what will they then use to bolster our spirits?